Deaerating heater



March 20, 1956 P. FRENEAU Erm. 2,738,852

v DEAERATING HEATER File Feb. 9, 1954 4 sheets-sheet 1 llllll IN VEN TORS j /qf/LJP FRE/veeg No Fig] um @Mam/@M Ziff/A? Hymnen/.Fys

March 20, 1956 Filed Feb. 9, 1954 P. FRENEAU ET AL 2,738,852

DEAERATING HEATER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR /Q/L /p Fin/Esa mun YF/emw: 4. Moge/Sou dimm, JMW@ March 20, 1956 P. FRENEAU ETAL 2,738,852

DEAERATING HEATER Filed Feb. 9, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN V EN TORS 795/2 gruene-ys March 20, 1956 P. FRENEAU ET AL 2,738,852

DEAERATING HEATER Filed Feb. 9, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN V EN TORS Fenu* l@ mame/sou Mmm a fa@ DEAERATING' HEATER Philip Frenean" and Frank A. Morrison, Jeannette, Pa.,

assignors toElliott Company, Jeannette, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 9; 19 54, SerialNog 409,119

9 claims. (c1. 18a-2.5)

This inventiony relates to deaerating heaters, in which water isheated by steam to liberate the non-condensible gases.

Deaerating heaters oit-thisl general type are wellknown.

' After water has been sprayed into the tank, it is collected and directed into a lower chamber where it is picked up by steam and thrown upward'against abaflie; The Vwater falls from the baie into thelower part'off the tanlcand the steam continues to rise to -heatthe waterspray. It sometimes happens, however, especially at1owfloads,that the steam andwater do not mixproperly and the"v water is not'heated to as high a temperaturey asit shouldy Y It is among the objects of this invention toprovide a deaerating heaterV in which water that is not properly mixed with the steam is recirculated until it' properly mixed, and in which the` operation'of they heater'is Vnot alected adversely if it is mounted inj a ship `-whereitl is tilted backv and forth. I f

In accordance with this inventionagdeaerating tank` contains meausifor spraying water inside its upper part'.- Below thesprayerthereis` awater-A collector',` arid below that an open top recirculationY chamberis l'oc'atedi` Water is conducted from the^co1lector down-'into :the chamber,

water issuing from the mixingfpozzle` thereis an impact" memberV which delectswtbe` watenandsteam striking it. The diameter ofthe recirculation chamber is such that only if there has been` thdlro'gh' mixing ofthe steamand.

water` inV the,l mixing nozzle Will. the,l water...wh ih strikes` the impact member have suiiicient velocityto: bounce `out beyondY the chamber ortol be carried.- outt beyond it,- by the residual steam velocityand fallrintogthe taule below.` Consequently,

lower tvelocity, fallsz back; into:y the recirculation-:chamber where it againisventrainedfbythe'stearrlandfA thrbwn upf against` the impact members:

of a tilted recirculation chamber to its high side to insure proper waterdistributionI ine-thetrcircnlation chamber;

The invention is illustratedin Vthe"accompanying` drawings, in which: A

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side view of o ur deaerjating'V heater, showing thelupper portion in 4cent1-'al "vertical section;

Fig.Y 2.is a horizontaljsection takenon the line IIL-,II of Fig. 1; 1

An` upwardly Steam is conducted into the'tank4 and chamber inadequately mix-.ednwater,y movingl atv a 2,738,852 Patented Mar. 20, 1956r Figs. 3 and 4 are views similar to Figs. land 2,re-'- spectively, of a modification; and

Fig.4 is' a fragmentary perspective view, partly' in section, ofL the recirculation chamber assembly of the secondembodiment.` Y v A Referring toFigs.` l andZ` of the drawings; relatively` i cold boilerfeedwaterenters oneside of theupperendof a ward from it. The lower endsrof the pipes 'extendtlirt ttglrl v a' hollow cone12, which vis spaced from 1In'one-form:ofthe/inventioni provision is made 2 fon conduetingfwter ifro'xn the? low' sidel -lowerpedge' engaging th' cylindrical deaerating tank' 1 andv is conducted ldiametricaly across it through a horizontal spray pipe 2: Thisl pipe `may beprovided withV two parallelrowsl ofclosely spaced jetsf3 extending along itfor spraying the water'in sheets upwardly; andoutwardly in opposite directions againstthe' top of a circular dome 4. The side" .wall-f of thedome extend'sdownwardly a short distance around a spaced pair of `parallel straight baflies `5 that are secured'toithe top of the dome.A Non-condensible gases liberated inthe tank pass into lan open-bottom receiver 6.extendingacrossV the' tank" and escape through vent 7 which has'ares'tricted orifice at its upper end" (not shown), The sprayed water, which isA heated to a` highy temperature bythe steam' in the tank, falls into a cylindrical collectorS* that encirclesth'elower end of the domean'd thatj'is spaced` from the domeand the side of the tank'. The'centralportionof the `bottom wallofthe collector extends upward 4sothat the watermustflow into, the encircling narrow area' which has several, preferably four, drain pipes 9extending downthe= side' of a cylindrical recirculation chamber 10,'.which has an `yoperiAV top spaced Afrom' the4 bottom `of the collector. lDi'sposed" in the center jofthe recirculation chamber-.is the bottom of the chamber by means of verticaljtriangulan plates I3.V This cone also` is spaceda considerable distance from the side wall off the chamber. Thev lower endof'the cone is encircled by an upwardly taplere.dring, 14, which'has its bottom of the chamber, preferably where it joins the side wall; The upper endA of the ring is spaced from the cone, but the ring tapered less sharply than the cone so that an upwardly tapered annular passage is formed. between them. This passage Vrsa' nozzle, decreasing in area in the direction offsteam how, for steam that enters the recirculation` chamber through a central opening in itsbottom connected by aV steampipe 15'With a source of steam outside offthe tank.

The cone `12 isencircled above the taperedring by anl annularlmember 17 that is tapered upwardly moretsh'arply than thegcone, except for its lower end which isflared out and is supported by triangular plates 18'secured to-thev` annular member meet va short distance above `the tapered' rlng 14j alconstrictionis formed. The ilaredflowerfend of' `the annular member encircles `the upper endof the ringand is spaced-from it,.but preferably it istapered less' sharply. The `passage between. the annular member and cone forms an in doing` so will draw water .into theY lower end= ofthe mlxlng nozzle and carry itl up through it andout offits UPP'er'end.

Abovetbe recirculation chamber there Ais an Vimpact` member coaxial.` withnthe chamber.' This member may 1 tween. them. It` the exchange-is complete, which means 9 be a V,flat circular. plateV or" a -rod 22 4thatextends downwardA from the-raised bottom of the water collector. This plateis in the path of the steam and water mixture-issuingV from the mixing nozzle. The water droplets` striking `the plate ywill bounce' outward.. Since the water is entrfained bythe steam in the. mixing nozzle, there is i a velocity interchangeH beupwardlytdrected annular mixing' nozzle, because steam, issuingfromV thefupper end-ofthe steam nozzlewill liow up throughk the mixing nozzle and4 21 mounted on'the lowerend' proper mixing of steam and water, the velocity with which the water will hit the impact plate will be high enough to carry the water outward beyond the side wall of the recirculation chamber with the assistance of the residual steam velocity. On the other hand, if the velocity interchange is incomplete due to inadequate mixing of steam and water, or if because of operation at low loads the steam velocity is insuicient to properly rnix and accelerate the water particles, the water striking the impact plate will not bounce clear of the recirculation chamber but will fall back into it for recirculation. Consequently, any inadequately heated water will recirculate until it is brought up to temperature. The steam separating from the water at the impact plate ows outward and upward around collector 8 to heat the water spray entering the tank.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, recirculation is produced in the same way as in the rst embodiment, but steam is admitted to the cone 26 from the top instead of from the bottom. Thus, the cone in the center of cylindrical recirculation chamber 27 has a large diameter top that is provided with an axial opening in which the lower end of a steam pipe 2S is mounted. The cone is supported above the bottom of the chamber by the pipe which extends upward through the convex bottom of the water collector 29 and then out through the side of the collector and the tank 30. Encircling the lower end of the cone in spaced relation therewith is an upwardly tapered ring 32 that is secured to the chamber bottom at its junction with the side wall. This ring forms with the cone an upwardly tapered annular steam nozzle which decreases in area in the direction' of steam ow. The rest of the cone is encircled by an annular member 33 that is spaced from it and tapered more sharply, except for its flaring lower end, so that a constriction is formed between the cone and the upper end of the ilared portion of the annular member. The passage between the annular member and cone forms a mixing nozzle. The annular member is supported by radial plates 34 fastened to the side of the recirculation chamber.

Steam issuing from the steam nozzle iiows upward through the mixing nozzle and entrains water from the recirculation chamber, which it blows out of the top of the mixing nozzle. This water is blown up against the side of the steam pipe and an impact member in the form of a plate 36 encircling the steam pipe above the recirculation chamber. As in the first embodiment of the invention, water that has been properly entrained with the steam will strike the impact plate with sufficient velocity to be thrown clear of the recirculation chamber. Improperly mixed water will have a lower velocity and therefore will fall back into the chamber and be recirculated.

Another feature of this second embodiment of the invention, which also could be applied to the first embodiment, is that provision is made for insuring operation of the recirculator even though the tank is installed in a ship where the pitch and roll ordinarily would cause the water from the collector to be delivered only to the low side of the tilted recirculation chamber. Adequate distribution of the water around the inside of the chamber is accomplished by having the lower ends of the drain pipes 37 from the collector enter the top of a housing 38 which encircles the recirculation chamber and is secured to it. With four drain pipes, for example, the inlets into the top of the housing are spaced 90 apart, as shown in Fig. 4. Beside each inlet inside of the housing there is an upper vertical wall 40 extending from the top of the housing down about halt way. From the bottom of each of these walls a partition 41 extends substantially horizontally below the adjacent inlet to a point near the next upper vertical wall. Each of these horizontal partitions therefore extends a little less than 90 around the housing. At the end of each horizontal partition opposite to the end that is joinedA to an upper vertical wall there is a lower vertical wall 42 that extends from the partition down to the bottom of the housing.

To connect the inside of the housing with the recirculation chamber, the side wall of the latter has a port 43 opening into the space beside each lower vertical wall below the adjoining horizontal partition. When these ports are located apart, each port is 180 or less from the inlet that supplies the water that will ow through that port. With this arrangement, water entering housing 38 from the drainpipe 37 at the low side of collector 29 when the tank is tilted will tlow along the underlying horizontal partition #il and oit its open end into the space beneath the next horizontal partition. Although the port 43 that connects this latter space with the inside of the recirculation chamber will be near the high side of the tilted housing, it will be at a lower level than the upper end of drainpipe 37 serving this port unless the tank has been tilted to an extreme degree by an unusually rough sea. Consequently, much of the water from the low side of the housing will flow around it and into the high side of the recirculation chamber where it will be picked up by the steam and blown up against the impact member. The recirculator therefore will continue to operate quite effectively.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, we have explained the principle of our invention and have illustrated and described what we now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, we desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

We claim:

1. A deaerating heater comprising a dcaerating tank having a ventv for escape of non-condensible gases, means for spraying water inside the upper part of the tank, a water collector below said means, an open top recirculation chamber below said collector and spaced therefrom and from the side of the tank, means for conducting water from the collector to said chamber, an upwardly directed annular steam nozzle in the bottom or the chamber, an upwardly directed annular mixing nozzle in the chamber having at its lower end an inlet communicating with the upper end of the steam nozzle and with the lower part of the chamber around the steam nozzle, the upper end of the mixing nozzle being spaced from the side of said chamber, means for conducting steam into the tank and said chamber and to the steam nozzle to carry water up through the mixing nozzle and out of its upper end, and an impact member having a lower surface in the path of the steam and water mixture issuing from the mixing nozzle, the diameter of the recirculation chamber being greater than the impact member and enough greater than the upper end of the mixing nozzle that only if there has been thorough mixing of the steam and water in the mixing nozzle will the water striking the impact member have sufcient energy to be carried out beyond said chamber with the assistance of the residual steam velocity and fall into the tank below, whereby inadequately mixed water having insufficient energy will fall back into said chamber and be entrained by the steam again.

2. A deaerating heater according to claim 1, in which the bottom of said recirculation chamber' is provided with a central opening receiving the inner end of said steamconducting means, and said impact member is a circular plate.

3. A deaerating heater according to claim l, in which said steam-conducting means enters the tank above said recirculation chamber and has its inner end portion directed downward and surrounded by the upper end'of said mixing nozzle, and said impact member is a ring encircling said inner portion of the steam conducting means.

4. A deaerating heater according to claim 1, in which the inner wall of said mixing nozzle tapers upward.

5. A deaerating heater according to claim 4, in which the outer wall of said mixing nozzle tapers upward but to a less extent than said inner wall, whereby to form a constriction above said steam nozzle.

6. A deaerating heater comprising a deaerating tank having a vent for escape of non-condensible gases, means for spraying water inside the upper part of the tank, a water collector below said means, an open top recirculation chamber below said collector and spaced therefrom and from the side of the tank, means for conducting water from the collector to said chamber, anl upwardly tapered conical member in the center of the chamber spaced from its bottom and side walls, an annular member encircling the conical member to form a mixing nozzle and having a flaring lower end portion spaced from the side wall of said chamber, an upwardly tapered ring encircling the lower end of said conical member between it and said aring portion and spaced from both, the lower end of the ring being secured to the adjoining wall of said chamber, means for conducting steam into said conical member axially thereof so that it can escape between the bottoms of the member and chamber, whereby steam will ow up between the ring and conical member and carry water up through the mixing nozzle and out of its upper end in an upwardly converging stream, and an impact member above the conical member having a lowerrsurface in the path and below the apex of said stream issuing from the mix-V i ing nozzle, the diameter, of the recirculation chamber being greater than the impact m'emberand enough greater than the upper end of said annular member that only if there has been thorough mixing of the steam and water in the mixing nozzle will the water striking the'impact member have sufficient ,energy to be carried Aout beyond said chamber with the `assistance of the residual steam velocity and fallinto the tank below, whereby inadequately mixed water' having insufficient energy will fall back into said chamber and be entrained by the steam again. y

7. A deaerating heater according to claim 6, in which the top of lsaid conical member is provided with an opening, said steam-conducting means enters the tank above said recirculation chamber and has its inner end extending down to said conical member opening, and said impact member encircles said steam conducting means.

8. A deaerating heater according to claim 1, including a housing encircling said chamber and joined thereto, the top of the housing being provided with circumferentially spaced water-receiving inlets connected with said Water conducting means, an upper vertical partition in the housing beside each inlet and extending from the top of the housing part Way down, a substantially horizontal partition below each inlet extending from the bottom of the adjacent vertical partition to a point near the next upper vertical partition, a lower vertical partition eX- tending from adjacent said point downto the bottom of said housing, the `wall of said chamber having a port connecting the space beside each lower vertical partition below the adjoining horizontal partition with the charnyber, whereby water entering the housing through any inlet willtlow along the top of the underlying horizontal partition and down beneath the adjacent horizontal partition to the communicating port. v

9. A deaerating heater in accordance with claim 8, in which said inlets are 90 apart and said ports also are 90 apart.

References Cited in the file -of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,808,424 Manifold June 2, 1931 2,308,720 Sebald Jan. 19, 1943 2,315,227 Roblin et al Mar. 30, 1943 2,564,584 Sebald Aug. 14, 1951 2,580,791Y Kahn Ian. 1, 1952 

